Rainbow Dash Attack
by Tovarisch
Summary: What would you do if Rainbow Dash suddenly turned up at your door out of the blue and offered to take you on a date? This story follows Summer Breeze, a unicorn living in Ponyville, whose life is turned upside down when Rainbow Dash sweeps him up in a whirlwind romance.
1. Chapter 1

Title: Rainbow Dash Gets Sappy

Premise: Sunny Breeze is an exceedingly ordinary stallion who lives in Ponyville. One night, his quiet existence collides with the daredevil Rainbow Dash. What's more is that she wants him and won't take no for an answer.

Intro: This is my first foray into Rainbow Dash and romance writing. This was done while at least slightly drunk on a weekday afternoon.

Warnings: You're reading something that I wrote. Get the popcorn and eject your expectations.

Why Does She Want Me?

Sunny Breeze was a rather ordinary unicorn living in Ponyville. There wasn't much that could be called extraordinary about him. He lived in an ordinary flat in an ordinary apartment block on an ordinary street in an ordinary town. His coat was a pale cream color and his mane was a boring charcoal. He had a job, didn't cause trouble, and left no strong impressions on anypony. Such a ghost was surely doomed to live a nameless life.

Sunny Breeze had first arrived in Ponyville around six years ago. He had come from Baltimare, that decaying port city on the coast of Equestria. He had left because anything could be better than sitting in a decaying port thick with crime and thin with opportunity. Ponyville wasn't his first choice of town, but there was no point in complaining about the past.

He was alive, yet he did not have the sense of living. He did his work by day. It wasn't worth mentioning. He spent his free hours buried in books, And as for friends, he didn't think that he had any. Sunny did have tabletop gaming buddies, but they weren't the sort of ponies he'd count on. Well, there was Pinkie Pie, but she was Pinkie Pie, so she was just an implied given. Sunny met Pinkie Pie literally the second he arrived in Ponyville. A pastel earth pony with a rowdy mane was standing on the train platform. He got off and heard a gasp. Next thing he knew, a violently pink lightning bolt had tackled him, sending him flying back into the carriage. Introductions were handled quickly, giving them just enough time to jump off before they got an unexpected trip to Canterlot. Needless to say, they had been friends ever since.

Unbeknownst to him, his monotonous life was about to be over. It happened suddenly one warm Friday night in the Spring. He had spent the entire night working on his pet project: a constructed language. Sunny grabbed the bottle of whiskey beside him on the desk and took another swig. The stallion let it sit in his mouth for a bit. This was the best Percheron single malt rye whiskey the local shop carried, and he was going to enjoy every drop of it slowly. He held it in his mouth until his tongue tingled. Then he swallowed. The liquor washed down his throat, leaving a trail of fiery sensations in his throat and a warmth in his stomach. He'd finish creating the verb conjugation scheme and then head off to bed. A large yawn welled up from within him. Perhaps Greshnik, his current conlang project, could wait until morning. It would have been prudent; alcohol and systematic reasoning do not mix.

Ah well, it couldn't hurt too much if he just built the lexicon; he could very easily rework that at any time. A half hour later, however, he stopped. Sunny felt pathetic and depressed. This was his Friday night. How in the world did he end up making up languages with nothing but alcoholic beverages for company? Now he'd had too much to drink. Wonderful. Typical. He knew that this wasn't healthy, but he always did it anyway. Granted, getting drunk wasn't his routine, but he almost invariable had a few drinks every day. What did anypony else care? He wasn't doing anything illegal and it certainly didn't involve them! He piled his materials on the desk and took one last small swig of whiskey.

Another pitiful conclusion to another pitiful night.

Suddenly, a crashing sound came from outside! Several seconds later, somepony knocked on the door. Couldn't insanity wait until morning, or at least for him to sober up? Maybe they'd go away if he didn't make a sound. No such luck. The knocking came again, louder and more insistent. A scary thought entered Sunny's mind: perhaps there were robbers outside! He considered grabbing his FN FOAL rifle just in case. It was leaning against the wall next to him, loaded and ready. All that needed to be down was swipe the safety off and pull the trigger. Then he remembered that this was Ponyville and not Baltimare. The worst that could happen would be a Pinkie Pie prank.

The knocking resumed for a third time. Groaning and grumbling, Sunny Breeze stumbled towards the door. Definitely too much booze. He ignored the FOAL. There were no peepholes, nor were there windows, which would have allowed him to get an idea as to who was outside. He opened the door.

To his great surprise, Sunny Breeze saw a technicolor pegasus pony wearing a skintight uniform. He gasped, looked away, smacked himself in the face with his hoof, and looked back again at the visitor. Still there. Not a robber. Not a hallucination. "What is this, I don't even…," he mumbled, staring directly at his guest. The body was slender and lithe, yet muscular. Two dull glints stood out atop the head. Perhaps they wore glasses? He couldn't identify who it was in the weak, flickering glow of the dying incandescent porch light. The shaped was androgynous. This made no sense. Why didn't he run away? It would have been so easy to just shut the door and walk away. In the morning, he could laugh to himself that he had just been dreaming. This was not a dream. In his dreams, he would have already been swept up by now into bliss, or shot. In his dreams, he would not be thinking of shutting the door. In his dreams, he wouldn't have been tempted to shut the door in their face. Nevermind; that was the booze talking. In his dreams, ponies never really spoke as his guest was doing. Wait- his guest was talking!

"-have plans." It was definitely a mare's voice. Sunny Breeze shook his head vigorously. The mare seemed downcast. Sunny raised a hoof.

She had seemed rather impatient, hurrying through all the niceties and ejecting the words from her lips as if they were burning hot and she could not wait to get them out of her lungs. "Sorry, what did you say? I didn't hear you. Who-" He had been about to ask for a name when he finally remembered to turn on the vestibule light to get better illumination. His hoof flicked up the switch and he stopped dead for a second time in. On his doormat was standing a Wonderbolt! Even more astounding than this was the matter of the Wonderbolt's identity. He felt heat rise in his cheeks.

Rainbow Dash stood before him. Yes, that Rainbow Dash. This was the exact same one who was the element of loyalty. This was the same one who had performed sonic rainbooms unlike anypony else in history. According to rumors, which were never confirmed or denied, this was the one who had been said to have eaten Soarin alive, spat him out, and then helped herself to Photo Finish, Spitfire, and Fleetfoot. This was the Rainbow Dash who was said to leave behind a trail of devastated liquor stores, bars, and nightclubs, as well as scandalized wives and husbands wherever she went. Well, that was what rumor held, and rumor couldn't be trusted. He had seen her around town numerous times, but had seldom spoken with her. He had seen her perform, but never up close. And now she was on his doorstep in full uniform, goggles on her eyes, and speaking with him. This didn't happen, not even in his dreams. The blood rushed to his cheeks. The alcohol wasn't helping.

"What, you don't know who I am?" The barb hit Sunny Breeze. He didn't bite back. Rainbow Dash made what would have been eye contact if Sunny Breeze could have seen through her aerobatics goggles. "Well, mister, my name's Rainbow Dash, the one and only."

This finally got through his disbelief. The spell was broken. The stallion was no longer starstruck. Even if this was the real Rainbow Dash on his doorstep, she didn't have the right to ring him up at absurd hours of the early morning, nearly give him a coronary, and insult him. He was too drunk to give a damn, but not drunk enough to be nasty. "Save it for Saturday," he shot back, swinging his door shut.

"Wait!" A hoof pushed against his door. It was significantly stronger, so he yielded. The unexpected force made him stagger a bit. Rainbow Dash blurted, "I'm sorry, but this can't wait. Besides, it's Saturday right now!" He didn't know much about Rainbow's character, but he would never have put her as the dramatic or panicky type, especially with how Pinky had described her as a great, steadfast friend. There was probably a perfectly normal explanation for this turn of events. Sleep could be delayed. It couldn't hurt to give his visitor just half a minute to say her piece.

Sunny cocked an eyebrow and looked up into her lenses. Her eyes were obscured. "What is it?" He was ready for anything. Maybe she couldn't find one of her friends, or possible she was in need of something. It couldn't be too far out of the ordinary. Sunny braced himself for whatever was to come next. That damnable blushing had not yet quit!

Rainbow got the message. Nevertheless, she was undeterred. "The Spring Equinox in honor of Princess Luna is today and I was wondering if you'd like to go with me, unless you have plans..." Again, Sunny Breeze froze in surprise. His mind stalled. This couldn't be right. Rainbow Dash has just asked him out on a date and hadn't been sarcastic. A mare had voluntarily come around to his apartment who was not either his mother, Pinkie Pie, or the landmare on rent day.

The pegasus looked expectantly at him. She raised a hoof and tapped him on the head. "Hello, anypony home?" Her ministrations were unsuccessful. She rallied again, calling, "Rainbow Dash to Sunny Breeze, Rainbow Dash to Sunny Breeze, do you copy? Words twice- do you copy, over?" No luck. "I think I broke him," she said aloud deliberately, as if she were trying to dare the unicorn out of his shocked state. Impatiently, she shook him harder. He recoiled and stepped back sheepishly. His cheeks were luminescent red now. Rainbow Dash knew that there was no way that he hadn't heard her, nor could he have mistaken her meaning, no matter how sleepy or drunk he was. She tried to make eye contact with him. He wouldn't cooperate with her.

Rainbow almost advanced on him to prevent him from running away, but she stopped herself; forcing entry into somepony's apartment uninvited was not her agenda. Besides, there wasn't any time for such shenanigans. If she didn't catch up with her teammates soon, then there'd be hell to pay. After all, she had supposedly gone to the library to return a Daring Do book. She facehoofed. This was not going as planned. The mare had expected the stallion to come running to the door at the prospect of company, and upon seeing the one and only Rainbow Dash, been completely overjoyed. She then would've gone for the kill, inviting him to attend the Spring Equinox celebration with her. He would have been too excited to refuse the offer. He probably would accept anypony's offer, seeing as she knew from Pinkie Pie that Sunny Breeze didn't have many friends, was definitely single, and anxious to have any sort of chance with a mare. By rights, having a ravishingly gorgeous mare who flew in the Wonderbolts come to him requesting company ought to have been the easiest choice in the world for him to make. Instead, it had not gone smoothly and the awkward scene was only dragging on for longer.

Sunny Breeze was not having a great time of it either. In short, a rude somepony he scarcely knew was forcing her company on him and expecting him to be thrilled by the equivalent of having to make chocolate pudding at four in the morning because Princess Celestia and her court had suddenly decided to commandeer the whole apartment block before making him head chef, during which he was being given an Equestrian history test in Drakespeak and being humiliated for each mistake and hesitation. He had been dead tired and wanted to go to bed when Rainbow Dash arrived on the scene. He had opened his door for a complete stranger who hadn't given him the courtesy of even identify themselves. This had frightened him. He opened the door and immediately got talked at by a strange pony standing uncomfortably close to him before he could even get his bearings. Next, he discovered that his visitor was none other than Rainbow Dash herself. While this wouldn't have been too much to bear normally, sleep deprivation, having too much to drink, and the fact that it was some forsaken early hour of the morning had slowed his brain to a crawl. After that, his unexpected visitor behaved like a narcissistic mule and then went on a condescending, self-aggrandizing rant before insulting his intelligence and then suddenly putting him on the spot with a date offer. Now she was manhandling his body

while acting like he was inconveniencing her.

And now she had forced her way into his flat. His usual response would have been to grab his rifle, if he hadn't started stuffing his mess out of sight. These were abnormal circumstances. His head was just so full of thoughts and emotions that he couldn't think properly. The stallion blushed even harder than before. He had just been deliberately touched by a mare twice, and now she was in his apartment, giving him what must have been very intent stares from behind her goggles. It ought to have been simple, but it was complicated. On one hoof, he had just been handed an opportunity to spend time with an extremely attractive mare at a festival. On the other hoof, it seemed far too good to be true. And then his private space had been violated. That was a less major concern. Sunny was intensely private and liked to be asked before visitors entered. Lastly, he was in not fit state to make decisions. There seemed to be only one way out of this.

Rainbow Dash took a look around the foyer. She was backing Sunny Breeze against what was probably his closet door. She was anxious for a response, for she had to get moving without delay. He was now trapped between her hooves and the door. Dead end. No exit. At least he was now marginally calmer and more collected. Rainbow Dash noted how furiously he was blushing and tried to suppress a chuckle. It failed. "What's so funny," he squeaked. He was now trying to phase through the solid wood of the door, or at least get this possessed mare off of him before he either got a heart attack or died of embarrassment.

"Nothing," lied Rainbow dash.

"You're mocking me, aren't you," asked Sunny Breeze.

"No I'm not!"

"Then what are you doing?"

Rainbow heaved a massive sigh. How could she have botched this simple visit so badly? Train wreck was the word. She backed away from him. "Alright, look," she started. "I'm on a tight schedule here. I gotta get back to practice, but let me explain." Sunny gave her a look. "Can it! See, I'm single again and my friend, Pinkie Pie, told me all about you. She said you'd be perfect for me. You're stable, sane, and you're a nice stallion. Plus, wimpy guys like you are cute. I know it's kinda last minute, but I was just passing by and thought it'd be worth giving you a shot as my date for the Spring Equinox festival." Sunny Breeze's pupils contracted at the mention of Pinkie Pie and he seemed to come back to his senses.

"This is a prank, isn't it?" He stared up at Rainbow Dash without emotion. He was blushing slightly less furiously now that she was no longer pinning him bodily against the closet door.

Rainbow Dash shook her head vigorously. "No no no! It's not a prank, honest. I mean it." She was now the one caught off balance.

Sunny was still skeptical but processing everything. The stallion couldn't quite believe what was happening to him; he didn't trust his guest, or her story, or her motives to any degree whatsoever. That bit about being single was true; he had heard snippets on the radio that she had just gotten done with her second husband. They had separated just over a year ago, but the divorce had only been finalized recently. However, he couldn't verify anything else any the situation. He answered her, "I understand. So, what do you want me to do exactly?"

Rainbow Dash groaned, "Just be at the entryway to the festival grounds at noon. I don't have time to explain it all again." There was a pause. "What's it gonna be?"

"Sure, I'll meet you at high noon. Just no tricks, got it?" Sunny Breeze tried to sound stern, but he just came off as silly and drunk.

"Good! See you there- bye!" Rainbow rocketed out of the foyer and up into the sky.

Sunny Breeze remained frozen for several moments. He was sweating and panting. His cheeks were flush and his pupils dilated. He weekly stumbled over to the open door, shut it, and closed the lock. He had no idea what had just transpired between him and Rainbow Dash. All he knew was that he had apparently just managed to swing a date with a sexy socialite.

Walking over the bedroom, he looked at the calendar on the wall. The still inebriated unicorn searched around for the date of Spring Equinox festival. It was on Saturday the fourteenth, which meant that he was due to meet Rainbow Dash in just seven hours! He had to be ready to take his chances with that notorious mare so well known to cause scandal in only a few hours. Madness! It really was too much to fathom at the moment. Sleep had temporarily halted his assault on him when Rainbow Dash had popped out of nowhere and practically browbeat him into accepting her offer. However, not even that pegasus was cool enough to prevent sleep from restarting its assault and redoubling its efforts. There were so many worries, though, which proved to be just as distracting to Sunny Breeze.

Why Him? He knew not. Pinkie had supposedly given Rainbow Dash the idea that he was the perfect stallion for her. Rainbow Dash was not opposed to getting involved with mares. Sure, he had spoken with Pinkie Pie and she had managed to supernaturally tease every little memory, secret, fear, and desire out of him. Why did he trust Pinkie Pie to remain quiet about them? She knew that he had long nursed a soft spot for Rainbow Dash. Had she betrayed him? Not likely. His crush on Rainbow Dash was a secret that she had made a pinkie promise to keep. And losing a friend's trust is the fastest way to lose a friend forever. There had to be more to story than what he was being told. Sunny Breeze looked at himself in the mirror above his bed. He wasn't particularly attractive; more cute than handsome or sexy.

For a long while, Sunny Breeze lay on his bed, gradually drifting off to sleep while his head was filled with a buzz of drunken activity. Why did Rainbow Dash choose him? What was going to happen tomorrow? Could he hope to satisfy such a mare? He hadn't the foggiest clue as to why he had been selected out of all the mares and stallions in Equestria. With some luck, he wouldn't be used as some sort of cult sacrifice tomorrow and Rainbow wouldn't think him the lowliest loser to walk Equestria. Those things would happen later and sleep needed to happen now. Eventually, sleep came to Sunny. It was full of turbulent yet beautiful and terrible dreams. With luck, he could live out some of his own.


	2. Get To The Festival

Chapter 2: Midday

Sunny Breeze awoke in a haze. His mouth was dry and his brain felt sluggish, with perhaps a hint of a headache. He opened his eyes and yelped in pain.

Oh Celestia, what did he do last night? He lay in his bed for several minutes before rolling over to his side and looking at the clock. It read eleven in the morning. Some cogs were moving in his brain. It took a few seconds for him to remember whatever it was while a sinking feeling came over him. Now he remembered: he had to meet Rainbow Dash in an hour! Oh, that's right- he had somehow gotten a date with her earlier that morning and now had to make good on his promise, assuming that he simply hadn't imagined it. Otherwise, he'd just vegetate today.

His stomach made a small lurch as he sat up and got off the bed. Ugh, he really ought to not drink so much. A few mouthfuls of water from the tap later and he felt much better. Sunny didn't eat breakfast. It always would take a few hours for his digestive system to get working. Until then, it would be futile for him to try forcing anything down his gullet. Ordinarily, he would have just lain there, but he had a date. He couldn't remember the last time that was. The stallion debated internally whether or not to wear anything. Sunny looked in his closet, looking for something acceptable. All he found hanging were his work clothes and a few other pieces. Nothing was out of the ordinary; some trousers, a vest from Winter Wrap-up, and a few pieces of more formal attire. By far, the most prevalent styles of clothing were diverse sets of camouflage for a variety of environments. He had a BDU, DPM, Afgneighnka, and more. He had his reasons for owning them. Ultimately, none of these were really appropriate, so he just shut the closet and chose to go without.

Sunny grabbed a quick shower. Even he could smell the whiskey on himself. It was surprising that nobody had ever filed a small complaint on him. The warm water ran through his coat and mane. He washed himself with the small bit of soap that still remained. He'd get more later. His thoughts drifted off as he basked in the warmth of the water and the soothing sensation of being groomed. Sunny's still dreamy mind momentarily imagined that it was a mare with him, soaping him up with attentive, deep strokes, maybe pressing herself against his- ENOUGH! He jerked out of the daydream and pressed his head against the tiles of the shower. They felt cool on his blistering cheeks. He quickly shampooed himself with the little he could squeeze from the bottle and got out before any other incidents could occur. Sunny toweled himself off and ducked briefly into the hallway to look at the clock. He calculated that he could spare a few more minutes before it was absolutely time to go.

On the way to the exit, he took a brief swig from the whiskey bottle. He'd probably need to go get more by the end of the week. Outside, he saw a holedin the ground which looked as if it had been executed when somepony crashed into it something fierce. How nice of Rainbow to etch a reminder into the Azaleas.

The weather was typical for midday in early spring. The air was a little bit warm, but seemed chillier on account of the constant winds. The dew had long since dried up after last night's drizzle and flower buds were everywhere. True to form, the sun was shining unbearably brightly, as though it were happy to be retaking its majority stake in the cycle of light and darkness. Overhead flew some late arrivals returning home from the warm South. Several flights of birds and bees cut through the air, giving the impression of being in the midst of a frenzy of life. In reality, things were far less straightforward. If somepony in weather control was having a bad day, or their boss fancied a ski holiday, then a sudden cold snap could occur and blanket the world in snow. Winter still cast her frigid spell over the night. At a moment's notice, this springtime scene could be made no more. Life was gambling here. It could wait for later and merely get by well enough, or it could risk a reversal of fortune in exchange for perhaps reaching its true zenith of glory.

Sunny Breeze presently found himself at the field upon which the celebration was being held. He sought Rainbow Dash as he walked through the crowd of ponies, most of whom he did not recognize. Of course, there were stalls, tents, and the like, for the festival was a sort of carnival that ate up the whole day. Sunny heard the excited clamor of adults and foals partaking in the games. The sweet, sour, and sticky smells of the various offerings of the food vendors filled his nostrils. They brought back nice memories of when he was a foal. Happier days, those were…

He'd peruse them after he had located his target, assuming that she hadn't jumped ship. Sunny searched throughout the whole area, but was unable to find her. There was nothing unusual or unexpected about that. Perhaps he really had just been imagining the whole thing from last night? His story sounded almost exactly like the plot of a fantastical young adult romance novel. Still, the long hand on the clock had to complete its journey to the top. He'd wait a few minutes for Rainbow. He'd probably wait many more before going home to cheer himself with alcohol.

He stood around, not quite of what to do with himself. All around, ponies were laughing, eating and having fun. There wasn't time to seek a diversion, but he'd have to wait for an awkward length of time. The conundrum was resolved for him when the great, ponderous tone of clocktower met his ears at the stroke of twelve. Sunny looked up for any sigh of Rainbow when suddenly, a garish thing streaked by only a few feet above his head!

Instinctively, he hit the dirt and yelled, "Take cover!" Nopony paid any attention. He looked up and saw that everypony else was too absorbed in the spectacle to notice. In a fraction of a second, the streak that had nearly decapitated him converged with several other streaks. They were about to collide above the big top when they suddenly pulled up and left a rising spiral in their wakes. Sunny stood back up. And then he saw a distinctive rainbow contrail descend from the heavens with blinding speed! It streaked directly into the eye of the spiral.

At that very moment, a thunderous bang and a disc of color exploded from the spiral! Without missing a beat, the other Wonderbolts fanned out into the rapidly expanding ring. They soared right through it, carving designs in the light! The open wounds healed themselves, the colors swirling like smoke. Two flyers streaked in a circle far from the epicenter, trailing rainbows behind them. As soon as the circle was formed, they joined up with the other rainbow trail pegasus.

The flyers trailing thunderclouds followed their lead and formed a second triad, corkscrewing around itself and arcing higher into the sky. Their teammates cut rainbow streaks in the air, through which they blasted in close formation. They pulled up and formed a spinning wheel in the sky.

The rainbow's disk slammed into the trails left by the Wonderbolts and shot vertically into the sky! Just then, the performers flew through the eye of the storm! They burst out the other end, forcibly blasting out part of the disk. Amazingly, the rainbow fragment held and the Wonderbolts overtook it on the way down! With a great crash, they alighted on the ground. Moments later, the fragment crashed into them. It detonated into vividly colored clouds of mist, sparkles, and smoke! The detritus came down onto the audience and shone with the light from the sonic rainboom, creating an otherworldly effect as ponies were enshrouded in the florid haze.

Sunny clapped along with the crowd. He did not cheer, but smiled and applauded as loudly as he could. Afterwards, he stood in stunned silence. A hoof tapped him on the shoulder. It was Rainbow Dash in full uniform. "Glad to see you enjoyed the show," she laughed jovially. Her teammates called to her. "I'll catch up in a sec!" And then she was gone.

The stallion sighed and walked off. Perhaps this whole thing had been just a setup for Rainbow to gain an ego boost? Regardless, he had come to the festival, so he ought to try enjoying himself. Again, Sunny browsed through the crowds and stalls. The familiar sensation of hunger gnawed at his stomach, making him aware that he hadn't eaten anything since early the previous evening. He got in line for a hot noodles stand, directly behind a pair of ponies he recognized as being Derpy Hooves and Doctor Whooves.

He noted their manner. They seemed at ease around each other. Their speech was quick and animated just enough, making it apparent that they were excited instead of angry. Doctor stood just a tad too close to Derpy. While he wasn't violating her personal space, he was certainly much closer than absolutely necessary. In turn, Derpy was leaning somewhat into him. Their shoulders were touching ever so slightly. They looked into each other's' eyes, occasionally stealing glances at other parts of the other pony. Sunny envied their ease with each other. It must have been so easy for them, as if fate had arranged their bond. He looked around. To his chagrin, most other ponies here were couples. Some were mares with stallions. Others were mares with mares. A few stallions stood together, yet scarce were lone individuals. Sunny's heart sank. If Rainbow had been planning on pranking him or making him feel like a loner, then she could have hardly picked a more ideal opportunity in which to do so.

At last, Sunny was at the head of the line. He recognized the earth pony behind the stall, Haye Bailer, from work. "Hey, Sunny. How's it going?"

"Alright. How're you," he asked in return.

The yellow stallion gave a shrug. "Fine. So, you got a date?" Depend upon Bailer to be painfully blunt.

"I'm not sure," replied Sunny. "I've met up with her, but she's talking with some friends from work."

"You got a date for real? What's her name?" He lit up somewhat like Pinkie Pie.

The cream stallion deflected him. "I'll tell you later," he stated flatly, leaving no room for debate.

Dejected, Haye got ready to take his order. "Okay then. So, what do you want?" Sunny gave the board another look. Everything looked tempting to him, especially considering that he had neglected to feed himself for more than a day. He spotted what looked like the biggest item on the menu. That would do.

"I'll take the Buckwheat Hot Pot, Haye." The other pony nodded, indicating his understanding of the order. His limbs became a frenzy of motion as he pulled the entree together.

"You still on for the graveyard shift tonight, Sunny?"

Sunny slapped the bits on the stall and gave his response. "Yeah, I'm still up for it. Don't worry."

Bailer slid a huge bowl full of broth and noodles towards him. "Here's your soup, bro. Don't forget that you're starting an hour early today."

"Thanks," replied Sunny, levitating his meal away along with a spoon and some napkins. Steam lazily drifted up from the surface of the soup and into the tepid air. The day had turned out alright with regards to the weather. It didn't turn into an early scorcher, nor did it decide to be cold, rainy, windy, and miserable. The rainbow fog had somehow managed to stick with them, making for a rather artistic touch to an already glorious day. Sunny rather quickly found himself an empty seat under the big top and immediately dug into his food. It was hot, but not so hot as to burn his tongue. It was rather good for cheap outdoor fast food. He would have been content to just sit there all alone when he was interrupted by a familiar voice.

"Hiya! What'cha doin'?" Sunny nearly jumped out of his seat! With one hoof by his hip and the other leg defending his head, He turned around to face the menace, but found it to already be gone.

"Pinkie, give me some warning before you do that next time! Or at least don't sneak up on me." His pleas went ignored. He turned forwards again to find the crazy pony sitting directly across from him. "I'm eating buckwheat noodles because I haven't had anything to eat since yesterday evening."

Pinkie Pie seemed to ignore this. "Hey, aren't you supposed to be with Dashie right now?"

He opened his mouth to answer her as well as to give her a piece of his mind for suddenly deciding to set him up with her friends as well as reveal his secrets, unbidden. He stopped himself, cutting his reply to a curt "yes".

"Then where is she? I don't see her anywhere." Pinkie began to dramatically look around and shift objects, not limited to Sunny, his soup, his table, and the big top itself. "Dashie, where are you? Are you here? Dashie? Come out!"

"What is it, Pinkie?" Rainbow Dash stood at the end of the table, looking expectantly at her friend.

"Oh, hi, Dashie," Pinkie chirped back in her characteristic manner. "I'm just letting you know that I found your date. He's right here." The pink pony demonstrated by momentarily lifting up Sunny Breeze.

"I'm not blind, Pinkie," laughed Rainbow. "Thanks for helping me find him. I'll see you around. Later."

"Okie dokie lokie!" Pinkie Pie bounced away like she always did. It must have been no more than a few seconds later when she cornered a hapless Twilight Sparkle over at one of the stands for magic games.

Back at the table, an awkward silence reigned between Sunny Breeze and Rainbow Dash. Sunny went back to eating, looking at the cyan mare in between mouthfuls of food. For a long time, neither one of them dared to make a move. Thus they sat there. Sunny kept silent out of fear of embarrassing himself. The memories of the previous night still weighed heavily upon his mind. It was hard to overcome a first impression when it was all you had to go on. Rainbow kept silent because she did not feel like dominating the conversation. Her counterpart seemed to be holding up better for some reason. At least he was not blushing furiously and looking for any possible escape routes. Logically, she was the first one to break the silence.

"What are you eating?"

He looked at her hard for several seconds. He stuttered, "It's s-some sort of a b-b-buckwheat noodle soup. It comes from Miền Sói." It was really difficult to speak normally when cornered one on one by a gorgeous mare. The difficulty was compounded when one didn't really know or trust the mare in question.

That she had not been expecting. "What's Miền Sói?" Astonishingly, she got the pronunciation right!

"The W-wolf Kingdoms," explained Sunny. He was doing vastly better now that he was sober, rested, and talking about something he knew. "They're far to the n-north, but to the west of the Crystal Empire. It's a cold, harsh, mountainous land."

Rainbow Dash nodded her head, lithe body sensuously moving underneath her Wonderbolt uniform and her goggles glinting in the sunlight. "So not a good place to visit?"

"Indeed. Think of it as being somewhat like Afgneighistan, only worse. Officially, there's a central government in Răng Nanh, but it's ruled by a bloody tyrant. Out in the countryside, everything is under the control of local chiefs and warlords. Some of them are loyal to the government. Some are loyal to a rival, democratic government set up in the southwestern city of Chó Tru. They're fighting a civil war, and the factions are also fighting amongst themselves for who gets to be the boss of their coalition. The whole place is a warzone."

The mare looked impressed. "How did you know all that?"

"I read more than just the Foal Free Press. You should try being informed about world events; it's really enlightening." Sunny levitated out another spoon and offered it to her. "Want some?" This broke the ice. Rainbow grabbed it and didn't look back. They were soon chatting comfortably. Sunny was pleasantly surprised that Rainbow wasn't half so arrogant as she had been acting earlier. Rainbow was pleasantly surprised that Sunny wasn't half so timid as he had been acting earlier. It was not long before they had cut through the small talk about the weather.

"What did you think of the show, Sunny," asked Rainbow. The anxiety was plainly visible on her face.

"Excellent," he admitted. I've never seen anything like that! If that was you at the beginning with the sonic rainboom, then that was amazing."

"Aw, thanks," she chuckled. "Don't worry about that- it was nothing." She swatted with her hoof. Her grin betrayed otherwise. "I'm really glad you liked it! Did you see me? I must've been so awesome!"

"Oh, you were, Rainbow Dash," he replied. Truthfully, he couldn't tell who was whom, let alone identify any of them while they were flying. He hardly knew anything about the Wonderbolts anyhow. "Anyway, that must have been really difficult to do. I bet you practice a lot."

"Oh my gosh, it's just so intense! You've got to deal with winds, pressure, what everypony else is doing, and you've got a lot to think about. There's what comes next, how high you are, how fast you're flying, and that kind of stuff. It's not too much. After all, I am the fastest flyer in all Equestria." Sunny let her talk. He wanted her to talk. He was afraid of what would happen if Rainbow ran out of things to say and started calling on him to carry his end of the conversation. He couldn't possibly keep her entertained. He was just a unicorn living in Ponyville. She was a Wonderbolt. "So yeah, we practice this stuff all the time. The rainbow stuff is practiced late at night and early morning because it's easier to see. There's a lot of hard work involved in being a Wonderbolt. Get up before the sun, practice. Practice from sunrise to noon. Practice from afternoon to evening. Practice from sunset until late at night. We're out almost every day, no matter the weather. That's why we're the best," Rainbow Dash finished triumphantly, banging her hoof on the table. Silence returned.

This was bad. Rainbow had just told a huge yarn about her work and now she was looking at Sunny expectantly. The stallion didn't want to talk about his work. How would she react to knowing what he did for a living? He had to think of a diversion quickly- anything to get her mind off of him and his life. "That's amazing, Rainbow Dash." He paused deliberately. "So, where do you come from?" For a brief moment, Summer Breeze could have sworn that Rainbow Dash had momentarily lost her smile. It was cast aside in the next moment, as she cheerfully went on to talk more about herself.

"I'm originally from Cloudsdale, see, but I've spent most of my life in Ponyville."

"Why live in Ponyville?"

For a moment, she almost looked as if she might have been caught naked. Rainbow managed to save her composure with practiced eased. Nevertheless, her tone told the real story. "Cloudsdale just wasn't my style. Besides, I got a better job offer in Ponyville than in Cloudsdale. Up there, everypony can do weather patrol. Down here, there aren't too many pegasi, so they cut me a pretty sweet deal to come down here and run the weather patrol. So, what about you?"

Sunny almost choked on his soup. He forced himself to remain calm while he delivered his answer. "I was born in Baltimare. I came here because the economy back home is pretty weak. Also, Ponyville is a much nicer town. I just sold everything back home, hopped on the train, and ultimately ended up here. I've been living here ever since."

"Isn't Baltimare supposed to be a really bad place?"

Amused by Rainbow's reaction, Sunny supplied, "It is. If you listen, you can hear gunfire at night." He wasn't joking.

"Well, I'd be just fine there. I'm not scared of a few wannabe toughponies."

"I never said anything about you being scared, although I wouldn't blame anypony for fearing that city."

Sunny's teasing gamble paid off. "I wouldn't be scared. Who do you think I am? Fluttershy?"

"No, you're Rainbow Dash. You're the pegasus who is supposedly unafraid of anything. You seem to be putting up an awfully big display for somepony who doesn't know fear."

The mare facehoofed. "Darn it!" They finished the soup. "C'mon, Sunny," she exhorted, practically dragging him from his seat. He laughed jovially through the exchange. It hid the blush on his face. Rainbow dragged him from place to place like a boisterous foal tugging on its parent's leg. Sunny smiled. He and Rainbow played game after game. Her competitive spirit drove her to prove herself and evaluate her opponent. He was perfectly content to humor her. She won most of the games anyway; he had never been much good at such things to begin with. However, Sunny saw his golden opportunity to give her a challenge when he spied a shooting gallery.

"Hey, Rainbow, I bet you can't beat me at this." Her eyes saw the stand and grew wide. \

"Oh, you are so on!" She got the attention of the attendant, Berry Punch. "Hey! Set up a game for two, would ya?"

"Certainly," responded Berry Punch. Would that be competitive or cooperative?"

"We'll be facing off, so competitive. He's Sunny Breeze. You already know who I am."

The mare scowled. Sunny wondered if Rainbow made a habit of being an egotistical prat. "Alrighty, then. Just grab a rifle and say when." Rainbow Dash wrapped herself around the pellet gun as if she had suddenly been magnetized. There was Sunny Breeze over to her right. How slowly he was moving! This would be easy.

Several seconds later, Sunny gave the call to begin. "Start whenever you're ready."

"Okay, sixty seconds, unlimited ammo, most targets hit wins. Aaannd go!"

Rainbow licked her lips. The music began playing and the targets started popping up. Ducks began to leisurely stroll across the gallery. Pigeons began to bob in and out of cover. She was just about to mark her first victim when a hiss came from her right and a quickly fleeing bunny was knocked down.

She sped up and fired at a nearby duck. Miss! She fired again. It went down a half second later to a shot from a completely different trajectory. Rainbow gave up on precision aiming and just started to spam fire at any target she figured that she would hit. One by one, she started to hit targets. So what if her opponent had a better start? She was now blowing them down in quick succession- shooting like a boss.

Rainbow kept up the fire, jerking the trigger repeatedly. It seemed to be working. Sure, she lost some targets to her competitor, but she was hitting more than enough. There was no way he could have filled the air with as many shots as her. She knew for a fact that she was flipping down many more ducks than him. And as for the vastly more plentiful pigeons and rabbits, well, it's not like anypony could actually hit those.

She lost track of time and count of her shots. All Rainbow Dash knew was that she was shooting a lot and knocking down many things. That was how these things were won. She couldn't lose to Sunny; her pride wouldn't allow it! He was just some cute, dorky guy that she had decided to date nearly on a whim. He wasn't particularly clever, fast, or strong. There was no way he could beat her! Rainbow's wings popped out, so deeply engrossed was the Wonderbolt in her task.

Hiss. Thunk. Hiss. Thunk. These sounds became the only things she was aware of, other than the motion of the rifle and the positions of the targets. In her peripheral vision, she saw Sunny blast down targets one by one, methodically dealing with them one at a time and taking the care to place each shot exactly where he wanted it to go. There was no way he could possibly win this. He seemed too relaxed and leisurely. Every time he missed one, he would remain calm while he took the opportunity to recalibrate himself and his aim. The second time he shot, his aim was always true. Sunny seldom missed the target on his first shot.

The thought occurred to Rainbow Dash that Sunny Breeze quite possibly knew what he was doing. She was so hunched over and tense, clamped around her pellet gun and spitting out torrents of fire as soon as she felt her aim to be close enough. He was so poised and relaxed, guiding his pellet gun and carefully releasing one round at a time to strike his target. Now that she considered it, he looked almost beatific. He made it look so easy. There even seemed to be the ghost of a smile forming on his lips. Maybe he was singing to himself a subtle song that calmed the mind and steadied the body.

The gallery went silent and still. "Time's up!" Rainbow jumped as she came back to reality. Her last target had fallen just moments before. Now she'd see who had won. Sunny looked at her with an almost serene expression. They both silently awaited the verdict. "Rainbow Dash," began Berry Punch, "you scored twenty points. Not too shabby."

"Yes! Beat that!" Sunny shrugged.

Berry Punch coughed intentionally. She turned to the stallion. "Sunny Breeze, you scored sixty points. That's a new record!"

"What!" Rainbow Dash gasped and stared at her date. "How did you do that?"

Sunny Breeze gave a sort of blank look and responded, "I have a lot of practice at this sort of thing." He feared what Rainbow would do, considering how firmly he had trounced her. He received his prize, a trinket, from Berry Punch and faced the winged mare. To his surprise, she was for the first time, smiling genuinely at him.

"Aren't you mad?"

"Me? Nah. You beat me fair and square; you got my respect."

"Thanks."

"Don't mention it." She came up to him for what he assumed was going to be a brohoof. To his surprise, she gave him a kind of friendly hug. He stiffened at the contact and weakly returned it. Rainbow got off him and looked at his face. "Do you always blush this much?"

"Y-yes."

"You're cute. I like that." Sunny was speechless.

The next few hours proved to be quite enjoyable for the both of them. At last, the dying rays of light from the sunset were washing over them. The final rainbow wisps from earlier were fading into nothingness. The world was dyed a rosy orange. They were sitting together on a bench when Rainbow suddenly asked him, "Hey, Sunny, have you ever travelled?"

This was an odd question. "Obviously, I have."

"I mean, have you ever travelled outside of Equestria?"

"I have. Would you like to know anything?"

She asked him, "What's it like outside Equestria?" There was almost a hesitancy to her words.

Sunny gave a brief grunt. "Well, it all depends on where you go. Zebricy is not too far, so it's somewhat like home. No matter where you go, you can almost always find somepony who knows Equestrian. Sie sprechen die gute Equstrianische."

"Yeah, I'd figured," said Rainbow. "Zecora doesn't seem all that different from us. Say, is it normal for Zebras to always talk in rhymes?"

The stallion cocked his head. "No. You're being trolled." Anyway, now, if you go further, such as say, to the land of the Griffons- Griffiya, things get noticeably different. For one thing, everything is designed for much larger, winged, users. Also, guard yourself carefully, because Griffons can be pretty fierce and underhanded. It will help a lot if you can speak po-gressky."

"I knew a Griffon in flight camp," interjected Rainbow. Sunny patiently looked at her. "She started out with this cool accent, but eventually lost it."

Sunny couldn't resist the joke. "Deed shyi yevair takx laik deez?"

Rainbow laughed goodnaturedly. "Da, bratan, she did. So, tyell menya more."

"Now, Miền Sói, the Wolf Kingdoms, are getting pretty far out there. You can say goodbye to warm, grassy fields. Of course, unless you can speak Lupine, you're going to have problems. Last I've seen are the dragon realms. It's like stepping into a fantasy novel. You wouldn't believe me if I told you about it. And you'd better get Drakespeak, or else nobody is going to understand you. Supposedly, there's a land beyond all these called Outpost. It's where these strange, intelligent, hairless monkey things are supposed to live. They claim that their real homeland is a place beyond this reality. Does that answer your question?"

"Pretty much," answered Rainbow Dash. "But how did you get to do all that?"

The stallion considered her briefly. "I've done a fair amount of adventuring in my days. You can go far with little if you don't mind putting forth some effort and being flexible with your timetable. You won't get a luxurious experience, but nothing comes close to it."

"I see…" The mare looked off into the distance.

The stallion inquired, "Would you like to do it someday?"

"Definitely- there is no way I'm going to let you have all the fun."

"Of course," he said. "I'll invite you the next time I go."

I"ll be looking forward to it," Rainbow shot back at him.

It was now that the bell tolled. To Summer Breeze, it marked the time when he would be forced to depart. He turned to Rainbow. "Uh, Rainbow?"

"What?"

His voice conveyed every bit of vulnerability and insecurity he felt at that moment. "I have some things I need to do now, so I have to go. It was um… really nice being with you and maybe I could see you again sometime, assuming that you don't mind me too much…" He didn't wait for an answer. Instead, he just turned and started to leave.

"Okay, I'll see you later. Hey!" Sunny stopped and turned around. Rainbow advanced upon him. She saw his juvenile nervousness in his tremulous stance and faint blush. Did he ever stop blushing? Rainbow again hugged him, but more warmly this time. Being this touchy wasn't like her, but it was admittedly funny to make him squirm a little bit. And oh Celestia, he was so cute when he got flustered! "I had a lot of fun, too, Sunny. Just tell me when you're free; I'll take care of the rest. Deal?"

"D-deal." She let him go, but not before getting one last look at his red face and giggling. "Quit it, please!"

He quickly trotted off into the sunset, heading back towards town. There were few other ponies still at the festival. They'd mostly gone home for dinner, but would be back for the night portion. Rainbow sat alone on the bench, still wearing her Wonderbolt uniform. She'd find her other friends and spend the rest of the day with them. But now, she just wanted a few moments of quiet. Above the scene, a pure silver full moon shone brightly.

Sunny Breeze opened the door to his flat. It had been a long time since he had come home from anything feeling this good and this excited. He had a huge smile plastered on his face. His day had gotten off to a somewhat ignominious start, but it ultimately had turned out for the best. He had done the impossible in not only getting a date with Rainbow Dash, but in also doing well enough to get a second one! What was more is that he had discovered that talking to her was no harder than talking to any other pony. He'd have to spend an extra hour at work tonight because of the equinox, but that was hardly enough to dampen his spirits. Smiling, he quickly showered before shoveling supper down his throat. It was a stew of broccoli, peas, and carrots; simple and delicious. It was washed down with a small amount of rye whisky. Full and clean, Sunny went into his closet to grab his work uniform.


	3. Guard Duty Sucks

Chapter 3: Sundown

Sunny Breeze first put on his sleeveless, striped, white and green undershirt. After that, he put on the black uniform pants with minimal difficulty. His shortly-cropped tail gave him no problems. Next, Sunny stood in front of the mirror, gradually sliding the buttons on his uniform jacket into place. His brow furrowed as he went through the fiddly little things one by one, but left the top one undone. Lastly, he pulled on a balaclava. The stallion gathered the last few things he needed, including his FN FOAL, before heading out the door. He didn't take a drink; this was not the time for that. On his way down the hall, Sunny stopped, turned to face a picture of four young stallions, three zebras and a pony. He tapped it thrice with his hoof. "Ich lasse," he sighed, turning away.

The back doors of the wagon slammed shut with a satisfying thunk. "Do you remember the plan?" asked a stallion standing on the freight elevator.

Another stallion, who was wearing sunglasses, answered him, "Affirmative- we'll use route Shire 2, do the job, and be back within ninety minutes." He turned to face two armed ponies clad in black. One had part of a telnyashka visible on his withers. The other wore old style aviators' goggles over his eyes. "Get in position; we're headed out." The stallion got onto the driver's seat and instructed the two harnessed ponies to start walking. The armed ponies stood on running boards mounted to the wagon, a forelimb wrapped around a handle kept them from falling off. "All ready?"

"Ready all." And they were off. They only moved at a moderate pace. This was to make it easier on the ponies riding on the running boards, and also to avoid crushing pedestrians.

The armed stallions astutely scanned the streets as they drove. One of them called out to the other, "Hey, Telny, do you think anypony will give us trouble at the bank?"

The other one quickly shot back, "Negative, Goggles." He had so far seen nothing of interest; just the usual empty streets and illuminated windows to the left. Ponies on the street gave the odd group second looks. The streets were emptying out with the rising of the moon. "You're paid to watch- not talk."

"Sorry."

The conversation died and the noises of hooves and wooden wheels filled their ears. They came to a crowded intersection still full of ponies. The crowd gave way unusually quickly. The one called Telny heard some fearful murmurs and clopping coming from the right side of the vehicle. He groaned, "What did I tell you about sweeping the crowd, Goggles?"

"Oops- sorry, Telny."

Goggles brought his suppressed Sterling SMG down a very low ready position. The stallion's pulse quickened and his eyes darted around the swarm of pedestrians. He kept it tilted to prevent the cartridges from falling out. Unfortunately, the sides continued to narrow as they pressed on into the eye of the maelstrom.

Telny maintained his composure and paid closer attention his surroundings. His pulse elevated a bit too, so he coped by singing softly to himself. It was a foreign song from a foreign land in a foreign tongue. Goggles didn't have the faintest idea what it meant. It sounded simultaneously harsh and beautiful. So many consonants were jammed together in strange, impossible ways. However, the vowels were bold and strong. The tune was stirring and martial, filling the heart with passionate courage. Its richness was apparent, despite the harshness of Telny's accent as he sang.

The tension remained until they were clear of the midtown crowd and rolling along a roomy boulevard. The sun was now well below the horizon and the moon cast its pale glow over the land. This particular area of Ponyville most didn't visit once the sun went down. To the van's right was a lovely park, perfect for picnics, enjoying the sun, and meeting friends. To its left was a row of storefronts for things such as ice cream, fast food, barber shops, and the like. It was too chilly and dark for a stroll in the park and too late for business; Ponyville was a town that appreciated its shuteye.

Telny let his rifle droop by his side and slowed his scan, although he remained vigilant. He always liked this part of the trip. The park was always pretty and the long sightlines made it nigh impossible for somepony to suddenly ambush them. The same wasn't quite so true for Goggles. He heard something metallic repeatedly hitting the far side of the van. "Goggles," he yelled, "you've got to keep your guard up!"

"How did you know?" Shot back the other pony.

"Because I can hear your gun clanging on side of the van! Do keep in mind that your Sterling is an open bolt design; if you're not careful with it, you can very easily slamfire the damn thing!"

The bespectacled pony replied, "sorry!"

"Y'know, you don't have to take the graveyard shift. If you'd like, I'll let you borrow my rifle."

"No, it's okay- really." The other one snorted. Silence reigned for several minutes. Telny spied the occasional pony, but none of them ever came close. Rather, they stared. He was content to leave it that way; nopony ever approached armed strangers without reason. If they did approach, then it most certainly meant trouble. Besides, maintaining one's anonymity was important, not only for security, but also for keeping the respect of one's peers. Pony society actively shunned violence. It had no mercy for those whose livelihoods depended on it.

Presently, they reached their object, the Ponyville Royal Bank. They pulled into the back and set to work immediately. The driver signaled a stop and the guards leap to their feet. The driver unlocked the rear entrance and beckoned to Goggles, "Come on!"

"Affirmative, Shades," he said, following his superior inside, leaving Telny all alone outside. Once they were decidedly out of earshot, he let out a hoarse laugh. "Shades- what a callsign!" It suddenly occurred to him that nopony knew any of the others by their real names or faces. They certainly wouldn't believe who he was during his own personal time. Well, he and one guy knew each other.

Even in the dead of night, Telny did not lower his guard. This was important. Goggles and Shades trusted him to stand outside and watch their backs- the company trusted him to safeguard tens of thousands of bits almost unsupervised. Earning that trust hadn't been easy, but it had been well worth it. They worked for the Paddock Monetary Express Company. It was the subsidiary of the nationalized Royal Banking Corporation which was tasked with protecting both shipments of money, as well as safeguarding the financial institutions themselves. Sure, the Ponyville outfit was small, but that only meant that the competition to prove oneself was tougher. There were never many threats, or at least credible ones, in Ponyville. Missing one or making a single mistake could tarnish your career for a long time. The menace of occasional attacks from beasts of the nearby Everfree hardly counted as a threat.

Telny remembered the last time when there had been an incident was more than half a year ago. That day was just at the end of summer when a huge beast came bounding out of the Everfree Forest. It was some sort of Cerynitian Deer. It came bounding across the meadow in a matter of seconds for Celestia knows why. It smashed its antlers into the side of the wagon, which flipped it. Telny just raised his gun and fired away. The Cerynitian stag bolted, but it only managed to get maybe a couple hundred feet before it fell dead in the meadow over by Fluttershy's house. He heard that she was really upset by it.

Telny stopped reminiscing. Something was moving in the direction of the Everfree! It wasn't gargantuan, but he couldn't determine its distance. It wasn't yet worth pointing his gun at it, but he went into a low ready stance and got ready to put pressure on the trigger. It walked on four legs and was walking a course perpendicular to him. After several tense seconds, the shape stepped out into the open and was silhouetted against the moonlight. Telny was relieved to see that it was a pony. He slung his rifle onto his back. Some might have called his actions paranoid or excessive. Obviously, they had never found themselves in his place. A shift or two doing his line of work would change their outlook.

Presently, Shades and Goggles returned with a dolly loaded with money. The next fifteen minutes were punctuated by the sounds of them moving the hard currency into the back of the van. Once that was done, they would have to go deal with all the kiosks scattered around town. Thankfully, the traffic ought to have lessened by now. None of the banks or kiosks in Ponyville were guarded around the clock; they just didn't have the staff or the need to do it. Besides, Pinkie Pie always found a way to make their most valiant attempts at hermetic security pointless, such as the time she threw a party in the interior of the bank's new vault. Never mind that it had never been opened before then.

The door was soon sealed and they were soon on their way again. Telny bullied Goggles into swapping weapons by pulling rank. He was careful to active the rifle's safety before giving the rifle to the rookie. At the first of three kiosks, they repeated their main bank arrangement. Telny remained outside while his coworkers headed indoors. While he waited, Telny spied Haye Bailer walking down the opposite sidewalk.

"Enjoying graveyard?" asked Haye.

"It puts oats on the table," responded Telny. "Anyway, why do you ask, Keffiyeh?"

The other stallion snorted, "C'mon, Sunny, we're friends; no need to use the ridiculous callsigns off duty."

"Have it your way, Haye."

"So, how's the rookie?" Keffiyeh inquired. The groan emitted by Sunny Breeze told the whole story. The other stallion laughed. "Better you than me."

Sunny said, "Could you see about getting him shunted to something like monitor duty? Goggles is an accident trying to happen. Yes, he's really that bad." The unicorn watched the kiosk for signs of the rookie; he and the other stallion would be coming along very soon.

The bay roan paused to contemplate for a moment. "I'll see what I can do," he replied.

"Thank you, sir," replied the unicorn. "I'll see you later then- good evening."

"Later," responded Haye. He kept on walking down the street. It was only a few minutes later that he was riding to the next kiosk.

The wonderful silence of the empty street was spoiled by Goggles opening his mouth. "Yo, Telny, who were you talking to?" Great! He just had to hear him speaking.

"A friend, Goggles," snapped Sunny.

"What did you say to him, Telny?" Forget monitor duty; have this busybody reassigned to custodian!

"It was nothing important, Goggles."

"Well, whatever you were saying, Telny, it sure didn't sound like Equestrian."

Why didn't this pest just shut up and do his job? "That's because, Goggles, it wasn't Equestrian!" Sunny caught himself getting angrier than he should at a greenhorn who didn't yet know the rules of engagement. All Goggles was trying to do was get to know his coworkers. Sunny couldn't blame him. Now he felt bad about snubbing the poor guy. "Sorry, Goggles, but in this business, we don't really like having to divulge more information than is necessary. You might know this already, but this isn't the sort of job that you want ponies to know you have. He and I have already known each other for a long time. If I felt that you should have known, then I would have told you. Never ask for real names or any other sort of identifying information." The journey carried on in awkward silence.

The second kiosk was a long affair. The same procedure was repeated again. Sunny expected this one to be the longest stop because it was located right by the main town marketplace. What they collected on their rounds were mostly profits made from fees and loans. These profits would be rounded up and shipped off to company headquarters in Canterlot. He wasn't really sure how the system all worked. It was above his pay grade and it probably would make his brain blow a few fuses. None of it really mattered to him so long as he got paid.

The third kiosk was quite brief, being located in a residential area near the library. Based on the cacophony of lights and sounds, one massive party must have been going on down there. A wicked grin crossed Sunny's face. It was a stupid prank, but it was just too damn funny to refuse. He was sorely tempted to knock on the door, announcing the hunt for a dangerous fugitive. Once inside, he would order all the occupants to help him search, by which he meant do ridiculous things on command. He would then grab some random pony- perhaps a mare, announce success, and steal off into the night. The festival was long over, so his chances of even getting inside the party were minimal.

His thoughts turned to Rainbow Dash. Surely she was living it up right now instead of grinding through an extra-long shift at a crummy job. He hoped that she really did enjoy the time they had spent together and was being completely serious about wanting to see him later.

It was then that one of most bizarrely improbable events of Sunny's entire life came to pass. Out of the library stumbled six pegasi who had obviously had a few too many hard ciders. Sunny almost instantly recognized their Wonderbolt uniforms. "So they really do like to party hard…" He mumbled to himself. That didn't matter. What did matter was that six intoxicated ponies were headed his way. Nevermind- now it was only four ponies, with two of them going off in some other direction. Drunken partiers and armed guards never met peacefully, especially when the guards were outnumbered.

He turned to present a larger silhouette and held out the gun in a way that made it obvious. They still kept coming. There was no way that they hadn't seen him. They were now close enough to identify. To his horror, Rainbow Dash was present among them. He cursed his luck. "They just all had to be mares, didn't they?" The familiar heat effused his face. He had always had a thing for pegasi, and having four stunning examples in front of him wearing those skintight jumpsuits wasn't doing him any favors.

Sunny Breeze fell back on his training. It was best to not say anything at all. One of the mares in front of him whispered something to her friends. They giggled and looked at him. They were nearly close enough to touch him. He raised his gun a bit, but stopped short of point it at anything. He was technically within his rights to fire and get away with it. Perhaps he would have done so with any other group. Sunny opened his mouth and tried to speak, but couldn't make the words come out. Why did his one weakness have to be so damn common?

Their leader, whom he knew was named Spitfire, must have noticed this and decided to tease him. "Hey, baby, you like what you see?" He nodded, hoping that they'd go away if he humored them. They didn't.

Another one cut in. He didn't recognize her. She had a black coat and a spiked green mane. "I didn't know you liked brutes, Spitifire."

"Shaddap, I do not! Leadheads are seriously uncool, Arrow! What you think, Lightning Dush?" She had a teal coat with a yellow and orange mane.

"It looks like another worthless foal killer if you ask me," spat Lightning venomously, the rest all nodding. Ouch! That really hurt. "Think he's any good in bed, Rainbow Dash?" Tears threatened to spill from his eyes.

"Nah! I bet he's a virgin." Sunny's ears drooped. "Watch," she said, rubbing against him. "He's totally spazzing out." Goodbye, self-confidence. "And what's with that stupid striped shirt? What else can you expect from a leadhead?"

Arrow cooed at him seductively, "Y'know, if you want some of this, all you have to do is ask… Say, why don't you show me that face of yours?" The drunken mare moved to grab at his balaclava. He couldn't let them happen- he couldn't let them know his face! Sunny stepped back violently. His cheeks must have been on fire.

"Whuddamatta, skrrd" slurred Spitfire.

"Scared of mares?" The others taunted him.

Sunny lifted the Sterling and pointed it squarely at Arrow. Why couldn't he talk properly? He opened his mouth, but all that came out was a strange, choking, yell; it was almost an infuriated sob. "STOI!"

"Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Cool it!" Rainbow Dash backed away and held her hooves over her head. "Geez, you don't have to get violent. We're just joking around." Not from Sunny's perspective. This could have turned into a fight or a robbery at any point. Considering that they had approached, taunted, and goaded him before trying to either attack or expose him, they were practically asking for it.

Lightning Dust shot at her, "Foal killers like this one wouldn't understand." Sunny wanted to yell at her. Didn't she realize just how much that hurt him? Did she understand what she was saying? His magic was pressing on the trigger. He turned the gun on her! It would be so easy to just pull the trigger, fire the gun, and kill her. He'd be well within protocol to do it. But he couldn't do that. There was no point in murdering somepony over drunken words, no matter how callously cruel and hurtful they were. More importantly, if he shot the mare, then he would prove to all Equestria that gun users really were murderous psychopaths for hire. He had to be better than those who misused their tools to cause harm.

Sunny Breeze pointed down a street with the gun. He mustered up all his will to just say one word. "Leave." Miraculously, they did. Good thing, because Goggles and Shades came back just seconds later.

"Hecklers, Telny?" inquired Shades. Sunny nodded. No more words were spoken. As soon as Sunny was alone on his platform, he slumped forwards. He needed a drink; something to drown the pain. They were back at the train station just a few minutes later. Sunny forced himself to feign indifference. It wasn't difficult. Soon enough, the wagon was unloaded and that was the end of his shift. The stallion wasted no time in getting his FOAL back and getting the hell out of there.

Alone, Sunny walked slowly down the street. He had had enough for one night and just wanted to go home, drink himself stupid, fall asleep, and forget that his encounter with the Wonderbolts had ever happened. That was what he wanted to do. What actually happened was that he heard the gentle sound of a pegasus attempting to stealthily alight on a cobblestone street directly behind him! In the near-total silence of the night, it seemed as noisy as a gunshot. Sunny turned on instinct, readying his rifle to face the potential ambusher. To his dismay, it was the one mare he did not want to see at all.

Rainbow Dash was out of her uniform- the first time he had seen her like this. She cautiously walked up to him. He slung his rifle across his back. What did she want? Before he could brush her off, she spoke. "I'm sorry about how we acted. I mean, we've all had a little too much to drink, but that was just not right. I'm really sorry about how Lightning Dust behaved. Is there anything I can do to make it up to you?" Sunny just started at her, dumfounded. So many emotions swirled around his head again. He wanted to hug her for what she was doing for him. He wanted to punch her for what she did to him. He wanted to thank her for the festival. He wanted to escape her for fear of how she would react once she realized who it was beneath the balaclava. "Can I buy you a drink?" she ventured. With the exception of clipping Lightning Dust's wings, this was the course of action most agreeable to the stallion. He nodded. "C'mon, I know a place."

They walked in awkward silence. Rainbow led the way, flying close to the ground. She tried to get closer to the stallion, but he swung at her with his hoof and flatly refused to say anything. She could live with that. She kind of wished that he were one of her friends or colleagues. Even Sunny would have been a better conversationalist than this almost mute stallion! Being silent was par for the course when it came to armed guards. It'd take a braver pony than her to risk admitting that was their chosen profession.

The interior of the bar was nice and clean; it wasn't seedy, glamorous, or even unique. The best part was that there were few ponies here other than themselves and the bartender. "Take a seat. This was my favorite place back when I was younger. The bartender was waiting for them by the time their bottoms had found stools. Sunny was somewhat surprised by who received them.

"Yo, Dash, wassup?" Vinyl Scratch called out to her friend before looking at Sunny. "Who's this guy?"

"Just some random colt I met. He doesn't talk much."

Vinyl eyed his back and scowled. "You know the policy on leadheads in the bar. We don't serve them."

Rainbow leaned in closer and whispered, "Take it easy on the ribbing, okay? He just got off work and came off of a really nasty Lightning Dust bitch-out." The white mare grumbled but assented. Rainbow knew that she owed her friend a huge favor.

"So, what can I do you for?" Vinyl took a stab in the dark. "Scotch?" Sunny nodded enthusiastically. "How much?" The stallion gestured for a huge glass. "Got it!" She set to work. "Not much of a talker, are you?" She received a blank stare. "Fine, forgive a mare for trying…" She turned to Rainbow Dash. "Just what exactly did she say to him?

Rainbow whispered, "Foal killer". In the corner of her eye, the stallion seemed to wince a little.

"That's harsh. I mean, I'm no fan of leadheads, but that's just awful." Vinyl really meant it. It was the kind of insult that drove even the most gentle of ponies to blind rage. Not even the most irreverent comedians would dare use it in jest. "You're telling me. For a moment, I thought he was gonna shoot her."

"No…"

"Yeah, really. All he had to do was pull the trigger. But he didn't."

"Did he deck her?"

"No, not even that. Arrow tried to grab him, so he yelled something in a funny language and pointed his gun at her, and then pointed it at Dust.

The barmare leaned in closer, fascinated that a hired gun would display so much restraint. "And then what happened?"

Rainbow ruffled her own mane, as if she didn't funny understand what had transpired either. "He just pointed down a street and told us to leave, so we did. There was no emotion, anger- nothing." Sunny ordinarily would have been proud to hear this glowing review of his performance, but not now.

Vinyl handed a large glass full of whiskey to Sunny. All she could see of his face was his eyes. They were slightly red and damp. She replied after a moment's thought, "For whatever reason he didn't kill her, it means that he's been through a lot, or he's got unbelievable self-control."

Rainbow said wistfully, "I just wish I knew…"

The bar went nearly quiet for perhaps ten minutes. The stallion managed to put away his liquor surprisingly quickly. At the end, Rainbow Dash kept her word and paid the tab. Sunny Breeze was certainly feeling much better. He even waved Vinyl Scratch farewell as he exited the bar with Rainbow. She didn't even acknowledge him. The booze was starting to affect him.

"So, are you feeling better?" Sunny nodded. He even surprised himself by hugging Dash thankfully. Oh well, it's not like she would ever know that it was him. She could never know. After all, she had agreed with Lightning Dust when she had called him a foal killer. There was no way that she'd consider him dating material, knowing what he did. In a small way, she was justified. After all, in a land where even the royal guards were only armed with ancient spears, the display of such deadly modern arms was shocking. Given the fact that weapons were only ever present if lethal force were an immediate concern, then one could be forgiven for associating guns and their wielders with death. There hadn't even been modern firearms at the time of Luna's return ten years ago. A lot of things had happened since then. Equestria was changing, but the Equestrians could only be made to change so quickly. Ponies didn't like living in a world where it seemed as if everything was turning harsh and deadly. Most ponies alive today still remembered the days when guns were strictly pulp science fiction stuff. Imagine a tiny piece of soft metal flying really quickly being able to kill anything in its path. The concept was implausible, but the carnage was horrifying.

Rainbow flew off, leaving Breeze alone again. He felt much better about both himself and about Rainbow. She wasn't just a beautiful body with a brazen attitude. Underneath all of that was a very morally upright pony who would stick up for others. She would stand by ponies who needed a friend or a protector. Plus, she had good taste in drinking establishments. He'd need to find some way of thanking Rainbow later without tipping her off that he was the stallion from tonight. Sunny suppressed a yawn. It was time to go to bed.

The walk home seemed to be simultaneously brief and prolonged. On one hoof, it seemed to take a lot longer than he had expected. On the other hoof, he was so drunk that he hardly remembered much of it later. Upon regaining access to his apartment, he immediately stepped inside and deposited the FOAL in the closet. Then, the stallion walked through the hallway and turned to the picture of the four young stallions, three zebra and one pony. He tapped it thrice with his left hoof and said, "Ich kehre." He took several swigs from the whisky bottle before making a beeline to the bedroom. Once inside, he stumbled through disrobing himself of his uniform. He tossed it on the closet floor; he'd pick it up later, eventually. With that, he collapsed onto his bed and drifted off into an uneasy sleep plagued by nightmares filled with gunfire.

To be continued.


End file.
